Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Stroller and Sand Cranes

Lutz, Florida (high 87, low 71)

Al was feeling a little better yesterday, so we decided to go look at a dog/kitty stroller we had found on Craig’s List. Margie and Roger have one for Annie and Buddy, and dogs really seemed to enjoy riding around.

We feel kind of sorry for Baxter. He’s a kitten living in a small space. He is not allowed outside, and every time he starts acting like a kitten, he gets in trouble. (scratching, climbing, attacking) There is not much room for him to chase around and the other cats aren’t interested in playing with him. To them, he is a big pest.

Al thought if we could take him outside in a little stroller, it would give him some stimulation and help to entertain him. We had priced them at pet stores for $150. Out of our budget.

We found one on Craig’s list for $45. It’s a heavy duty model (good for fat Bax) and was like brand new.

I am the worrying type, so he also has to have on a harness with a leash….just in case he were to accidently escape.

Here is his new stroller. There are drink holders (good for happy hour strolls), and a compartment underneath.

Here he is investigating it for the first time. Doesn’t he look cute in his new red harness?

That harness needed to come with a video to figure out how to get it on him the first time. Between a squirming kitten and too many straps…we had a little trouble getting it on him correctly.

We took him for a ride around the park last night. He behaved himself and really seemed to enjoy it. Of course he got lots of attention.

I never thought I would see Al pushing a baby stroller…. We never had any kids, so no baby strollers in our past (or future).

Good News!

I mentioned on my last post that the parents of the Sandhill Cranes left their two babies (colts per Judy). I had thought they were too young to be left alone, and Judy confirmed it. So we have been worrying about them for the past few days. We’ve wandered around the park looking for them. I even looked into some finding a wild bird rescue group, wondering if the colts were going to be okay without their parents.

This morning while drinking our coffee, we heard some cranes flying over. They have a very distinctive call. The two colts were right here. We ran outside, and found one adult had come back. One of the colts was a bit agitated and had his feathers all up as the adult walked up to him. A few minutes the other adult came over, to the same reaction. I think the youngsters were mad for being left! We fed them a few peanuts and pieces of bread, they ate and then wandered off.

So, Judy, is this normal behavior? We are sure the adults were gone, because we looked all over for them. Where did they go, and why did they leave their babies?

Baxter is getting so big!!..since you got a harness on him, can you connect him to a lead and have him outside when you are outside sitting?..we tried to use a harness on our kitty when we took him camping..he would have no part of it!..so at least you got the harness on Baxter..that is a great start!!

So glad Al is feeling better. It has been a long time since he has been up and at it. Where is the photo of him pushing the stroller? HAHA

Having a cat, we enjoy seeing cat photos. Baxter looks adorable in his new stroller. We see people doing this all the time. Our Bella walks on a leash. She does excellent. Not like walking a dog though. She has to stop every 15 sec. and smell. Enjoy pushing Baxter around the neighborhood.

Baxter has become a fine looking cat! I miss having cats, but not the cat hair and cat pan cleaning. Maybe when we are full timers, we wil get a kitten and raise him in the RV. Here a cat would always be an indoor/outdoor cat and I think it would be hard to change to an indoor only cat. Whenever a vist to the vet was schedualed, I would put signs on all the doors reminding us not to let the cats out!

We used to take the family cat, Max, camping with us all summer long when I was a kid. He would walk on a leash too. Once his rope got untied and he was gone. we were devastated. We looked all over, thinking his rope would be tangled in a tree. we looked for WEEKS! Gone.

6 months later, on a cold icy November winter night in Michigan, our garage door knob rattled. The SAME rattle our cat used to do to be let in the house from the attached garage where his litter pan used to be kept. Sure enough!!! It was MAX! Took him 6 months to get the 7 miles to home, and someone must have kept good care of him on the way. He had the same collar on too, but minus the tags. What a wonderful thing to get him back home again!!!!

Imagine my surprise to see Buddy and Annie on your blog. Looks like Baxter was interested and happy to have his own stroller. Yep, cup holders for happy hours are a must. Wonder if you will have to get a bigger stroller later - is Baxter still growing?

That Baxter is such a cutie. I don't think our girls would behave well enough to ride in a stroller. I'm like you, I am so ready for a change of scenery I could cry. Hope your baby cranes survive okay. Bad parents in the bird world? Wonder if there's a place you could report them. lol